eerie imaginings from the East
January 25, 2009 9:25 PM Subscribe
Asian Horror Movies.com. 100's of free, streaming video, full movies, which have English subtitles. Index of titles updated regularly. Japanese, Korean, Thai. Includes a wide variety of films from an eccentric fantasy like 100% Wool to a psychological thriller like Angel Dust.
Viewer reviews are below the screen, so you can have a little idea of the film.
Recommended: A Tale of Two Sisters l Inner Senses l The Host l Ju-on l Kwaidan l Save the Green Planet l Wild Zero l Audition l Cure l Dorm.
Viewer reviews are below the screen, so you can have a little idea of the film.
Recommended: A Tale of Two Sisters l Inner Senses l The Host l Ju-on l Kwaidan l Save the Green Planet l Wild Zero l Audition l Cure l Dorm.
Bwah!!? I finally get to see The Horrors of Malformed Men?
This selection is blowing my mind, thanks so much.
posted by stinkycheese at 9:41 PM on January 25, 2009
This selection is blowing my mind, thanks so much.
posted by stinkycheese at 9:41 PM on January 25, 2009
OHHH holy cow. They have HAUSU.
Ever see a girl being eaten by a piano? Well, now you can.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:50 PM on January 25, 2009 [1 favorite]
Ever see a girl being eaten by a piano? Well, now you can.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:50 PM on January 25, 2009 [1 favorite]
Ever see a girl being eaten by a piano? Well, now you can.
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WHAT
posted by Caduceus at 9:55 PM on January 25, 2009
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WHAT
posted by Caduceus at 9:55 PM on January 25, 2009
Oh holy shit. This is great. But don't take my word for it:
this movie is realy great its like shit in the ass of whatching the movie
posted by cortex at 9:57 PM on January 25, 2009
this movie is realy great its like shit in the ass of whatching the movie
posted by cortex at 9:57 PM on January 25, 2009
Hausu is the greatest film of all time. Seriously. Everyone should see this movie at least once in their lives.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:16 PM on January 25, 2009
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:16 PM on January 25, 2009
this movie is realy great its like shit in the ass of whatching the movie
Say wha? Goes to page, wonders. Scratches head. ah. You're quoting what must be a 13 year old movie reviewer. You know, there are many versions of thumbs up and it looks like that's one of them.
posted by nickyskye at 10:24 PM on January 25, 2009
Say wha? Goes to page, wonders. Scratches head. ah. You're quoting what must be a 13 year old movie reviewer. You know, there are many versions of thumbs up and it looks like that's one of them.
posted by nickyskye at 10:24 PM on January 25, 2009
ok.. so after Audition and Ju-On.... can somebody rank the next, oh say 5 top Asian horror movies for little old neophyte me?
posted by Auden at 10:44 PM on January 25, 2009
posted by Auden at 10:44 PM on January 25, 2009
Five movies from that list that I recommend: Battle Royale, Suicide Club, Cure, Uzumaki, and Hausu.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:59 PM on January 25, 2009
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:59 PM on January 25, 2009
Noroi is a great horror flick that very few people seem know about. It's tempting to call it a Blair Witch type movie, but that does it a disservice.
posted by clockworkjoe at 11:10 PM on January 25, 2009
posted by clockworkjoe at 11:10 PM on January 25, 2009
Top 5 Asian horror movies, 10 best, another fave list, another.
Angel Dust is really quite shocking and interesting about cultic manipulation. Ugestsu, a really old Japanese ghost story, is one of my all time favorite movies for amazing misty/mysterious, eerie atmosphere but it's not on the index, yet.
posted by nickyskye at 11:10 PM on January 25, 2009
Angel Dust is really quite shocking and interesting about cultic manipulation. Ugestsu, a really old Japanese ghost story, is one of my all time favorite movies for amazing misty/mysterious, eerie atmosphere but it's not on the index, yet.
posted by nickyskye at 11:10 PM on January 25, 2009
Ever see a girl being eaten by a piano? Well, now you can.
What the hell did I just watch? That film reminds me of those schizophrenia cat paintings.
Anyhow, I've had this site bookmarked for a while, but I've only watched a few films because I'm not sure what's good or what fits my taste.
Good: Ghosts, psychological horror, tension, family stories, possession, good, in-depth plots
Bad: Gore, lots of blood, overly weird, nonsensical plots.
Any recommendations?
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:13 PM on January 25, 2009
What the hell did I just watch? That film reminds me of those schizophrenia cat paintings.
Anyhow, I've had this site bookmarked for a while, but I've only watched a few films because I'm not sure what's good or what fits my taste.
Good: Ghosts, psychological horror, tension, family stories, possession, good, in-depth plots
Bad: Gore, lots of blood, overly weird, nonsensical plots.
Any recommendations?
posted by cmgonzalez at 11:13 PM on January 25, 2009
Good: Ghosts, psychological horror, tension, family stories, possession, good, in-depth plots
Bad: Gore, lots of blood, overly weird, nonsensical plots.
A Tale of Two Sisters was made for you. The Host should be good too.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the first entry in the trilogy that includes Oldboy, might suit your tastes better than the latter, more famous work.
... strange that I can think of only Korean films on the Chinese New Eve. Too sleepy I guess.
posted by fatehunter at 11:34 PM on January 25, 2009
Bad: Gore, lots of blood, overly weird, nonsensical plots.
A Tale of Two Sisters was made for you. The Host should be good too.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the first entry in the trilogy that includes Oldboy, might suit your tastes better than the latter, more famous work.
... strange that I can think of only Korean films on the Chinese New Eve. Too sleepy I guess.
posted by fatehunter at 11:34 PM on January 25, 2009
Anthony Wong
Anthony Wong is my favourite Hong Kong actor. Anything he's in is worth watching. Except maybe The Untold Story, which kinda sucked.
nthing The Host. I'm not a horror fan at all -- I don't watch them really -- but The Host prompted an obsession with Asian cinema to the extent that nowadays I rarely watch anything else.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:47 PM on January 25, 2009
Anthony Wong is my favourite Hong Kong actor. Anything he's in is worth watching. Except maybe The Untold Story, which kinda sucked.
nthing The Host. I'm not a horror fan at all -- I don't watch them really -- but The Host prompted an obsession with Asian cinema to the extent that nowadays I rarely watch anything else.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:47 PM on January 25, 2009
And my own favourites from that list aren't horror films at all. They're Dog Eat Dog, a H/K crime film, and Memories of Murder, starring the wonderful Kang-Ho Song (or is it Song Kang-Ho? I never get it the right way round.)
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:55 PM on January 25, 2009
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:55 PM on January 25, 2009
the Chinese New Eve
Happy New Year to all Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Indonesian and Korean MeFites! Good wishes for an excellent year!
posted by nickyskye at 12:06 AM on January 26, 2009
Happy New Year to all Chinese, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Indonesian and Korean MeFites! Good wishes for an excellent year!
posted by nickyskye at 12:06 AM on January 26, 2009
Seconding The Host. It's all about how families deal with horrible situations.
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:28 AM on January 26, 2009
posted by Pope Guilty at 12:28 AM on January 26, 2009
I have watched a disturbingly large number of Asian horror films during the last few months, as part of a current obsession with non-American/indy horror.
So far, the MeFi recommendations seem spot on, and I would go so far as to nth all of them.
I did really like the host as it seemed to be the first actually mutant mutant monster I have seen it in a long time. It is misshapen, asymmetric, and, at times, bumbling. It is also interesting as it is, as advertised, inspired by a actual incident of illicit chemical dumping by the U.S. military into a major river. Unfortunately, I have just seen that Gore Verbinsky is directing an American remake.
The thing that keeps drawing me out of the mainstream cinema horror market is it's continuing urge to not only remake, but "improve" on, foreign horror. More often than not, the cultural emasculation these films under go removes any real edge from the film, leaving a tepid, often unnecessarily gore or action driven. special effects montage devoid of fear or significance.
Sadly enough, I suspect I will be confirming this later today, as I feel an inexplicable urge to watch Quarantine, which I am sure will be a haphazard revenant drawn from the corpse of the fabulously frightening [REC] from Spain. In fact I should be able to confirm it within minutes, as one of the amusingly "cinema verite" touches of [REC] was a complete lack of any sort of orchestral score or musical soundtrack during the films, making it much more difficult for more traditional audiences to predict upcoming scares.
I am not sure why it seems to me that Asian films in particular do not seem to suffer the same accelerated Darwinism that is the American film production process, producing what seems to be more original and daring films since driving market forces seem to dictate less what the movie should be.
Thanks for the post. It and the site have been bookmarked. Now I should turn in and stop rambling so psuedo-intellectually. chuckle
posted by Samizdata at 12:47 AM on January 26, 2009 [2 favorites]
So far, the MeFi recommendations seem spot on, and I would go so far as to nth all of them.
I did really like the host as it seemed to be the first actually mutant mutant monster I have seen it in a long time. It is misshapen, asymmetric, and, at times, bumbling. It is also interesting as it is, as advertised, inspired by a actual incident of illicit chemical dumping by the U.S. military into a major river. Unfortunately, I have just seen that Gore Verbinsky is directing an American remake.
The thing that keeps drawing me out of the mainstream cinema horror market is it's continuing urge to not only remake, but "improve" on, foreign horror. More often than not, the cultural emasculation these films under go removes any real edge from the film, leaving a tepid, often unnecessarily gore or action driven. special effects montage devoid of fear or significance.
Sadly enough, I suspect I will be confirming this later today, as I feel an inexplicable urge to watch Quarantine, which I am sure will be a haphazard revenant drawn from the corpse of the fabulously frightening [REC] from Spain. In fact I should be able to confirm it within minutes, as one of the amusingly "cinema verite" touches of [REC] was a complete lack of any sort of orchestral score or musical soundtrack during the films, making it much more difficult for more traditional audiences to predict upcoming scares.
I am not sure why it seems to me that Asian films in particular do not seem to suffer the same accelerated Darwinism that is the American film production process, producing what seems to be more original and daring films since driving market forces seem to dictate less what the movie should be.
Thanks for the post. It and the site have been bookmarked. Now I should turn in and stop rambling so psuedo-intellectually. chuckle
posted by Samizdata at 12:47 AM on January 26, 2009 [2 favorites]
I cannot believe I just spent the first hour of the Ox year on Philosophy of the Knife.
posted by fatehunter at 1:01 AM on January 26, 2009
posted by fatehunter at 1:01 AM on January 26, 2009
Upon rereading my post, I hereby wish to apologize for my sleep deprivation and attendant inability to use proper capitalization and proper word selection.
Good night all, and spooky dreams!
posted by Samizdata at 1:37 AM on January 26, 2009
Good night all, and spooky dreams!
posted by Samizdata at 1:37 AM on January 26, 2009
Wow, this is really great. It even has my personal favorite Asian horror film, R-Point.
posted by burnmp3s at 4:41 AM on January 26, 2009
posted by burnmp3s at 4:41 AM on January 26, 2009
I really miss the incomprehensable Hong Kong kung-fu/horror/ghost films that used to play incessantly* on Beijing Phoenix TV.
*Except at 7:00 when the state news is broadcast on all channels
posted by Pollomacho at 5:06 AM on January 26, 2009
*Except at 7:00 when the state news is broadcast on all channels
posted by Pollomacho at 5:06 AM on January 26, 2009
Ohhh...man, I know what I'm doing this weekend.
One movie that I love, but no one's mentioned yet is The Eye.
Lovely atmospheric creepy-as-hell horror. The elevator scene will stay with you.
posted by Katemonkey at 5:13 AM on January 26, 2009
One movie that I love, but no one's mentioned yet is The Eye.
Lovely atmospheric creepy-as-hell horror. The elevator scene will stay with you.
posted by Katemonkey at 5:13 AM on January 26, 2009
This is fantastic. In fact, considering that Japanese movies usually don't have English subtitles in Japan (this injustice!), this might be my only way to see a lot of these movies. I wonder, though, how is this website going to avoid being taken down? The website that had every episode of the Simpsons died quickly, for example, as did the website that had every episode of TAL. How are they avoiding the same issue?
posted by Ghidorah at 5:46 AM on January 26, 2009
posted by Ghidorah at 5:46 AM on January 26, 2009
Thanks for the suggestions. I've actually been meaning to check out A Tale of Two Sisters (I've passed it a million times at the video store). The Host may have been marketed a bit oddly here, so I overlooked it but I'll check it out too.
I have the same taste when it comes to any horror films. Some blood is okay but gore for gore is out. I prefer more grounded stories with developed characters and the occasional good mindfuck.
posted by cmgonzalez at 9:31 AM on January 26, 2009
I have the same taste when it comes to any horror films. Some blood is okay but gore for gore is out. I prefer more grounded stories with developed characters and the occasional good mindfuck.
posted by cmgonzalez at 9:31 AM on January 26, 2009
There's also Kairo / Pulse / Circuit.
One of my favorite flicks, and one of the few movies that has actually gotten me pretty frightened. There's this scene with a girl walking down a hallway... peeking over a chair... ugh, so frightening. Nonsensically so.
This was remade into an apparently terrible American film, "Pulse," but I didn't see it. The original is too good.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:52 AM on January 26, 2009
One of my favorite flicks, and one of the few movies that has actually gotten me pretty frightened. There's this scene with a girl walking down a hallway... peeking over a chair... ugh, so frightening. Nonsensically so.
This was remade into an apparently terrible American film, "Pulse," but I didn't see it. The original is too good.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:52 AM on January 26, 2009
Wow, thank you. I've seen dozens of these, but there's lots of obscure stuff here I haven't been able to find and some stuff I haven't even heard of.
But (sadly) I have to wonder how long it'll last before somebody's lawsuits shut it down. Given that they're tallying donations on the front page, I have to think they don't have any real licensing agreements. OTOH, neither did crunchyroll for anime but hey somehow parlayed themselves into semi-legitimacy.
posted by tyllwin at 10:07 AM on January 26, 2009
But (sadly) I have to wonder how long it'll last before somebody's lawsuits shut it down. Given that they're tallying donations on the front page, I have to think they don't have any real licensing agreements. OTOH, neither did crunchyroll for anime but hey somehow parlayed themselves into semi-legitimacy.
posted by tyllwin at 10:07 AM on January 26, 2009
I have to wonder how long it'll last before somebody's lawsuits shut it down
Maybe things like this will change the approach?:
YouTube Monty Python Videos Boost DVD Sales 23,000%
"The trick of making Monty Python videos available for free online has boosted DVD sales of the comedy sketch show. If you compare DVD sales figures on Amazon before and after the creation of the Monty Python YouTube channel, the boost apparently tallies in at around 23,000%...
And it's interesting that this fabulously eccentric trick -- as befits the famously eccentric personalities of the jokesters themselves -- has had more success in returning revenue to the affected artists than the more legally-jackbooted actions of organizations like the RIAA and MPAA in the U.S."
posted by nickyskye at 11:19 AM on January 26, 2009 [2 favorites]
Maybe things like this will change the approach?:
YouTube Monty Python Videos Boost DVD Sales 23,000%
"The trick of making Monty Python videos available for free online has boosted DVD sales of the comedy sketch show. If you compare DVD sales figures on Amazon before and after the creation of the Monty Python YouTube channel, the boost apparently tallies in at around 23,000%...
And it's interesting that this fabulously eccentric trick -- as befits the famously eccentric personalities of the jokesters themselves -- has had more success in returning revenue to the affected artists than the more legally-jackbooted actions of organizations like the RIAA and MPAA in the U.S."
posted by nickyskye at 11:19 AM on January 26, 2009 [2 favorites]
They have Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, which I haven't seen, but the original Tetsuo was all kinds of messed up. I'm imagining the second to be similar. Very surreal and gory.
posted by owtytrof at 11:38 AM on January 26, 2009
posted by owtytrof at 11:38 AM on January 26, 2009
My old roommate was and still is a huge fan of horror movies and after living with her for almost two years I have lost my ability to watch anything scary. It all started when I got up the balls to watch "the ring" and my roommate was upset that I had not seen the original so we watched it together and then we watched Ju-on and a few other films that had been remade in America over the course of a few days. The movie "Audition" was that last horror I saw and I vomited during that last torture scene. I have not gone thru any of the links for fear of never sleeping again but I was wondering if the movie about a girl whose sister is growing out of the top of her head is on that list. That one was not as bed as audition but still pretty gruesome...I did not sleep for a very long time after that one.
posted by SheMulp AKA Plus 1 at 11:41 AM on January 26, 2009
posted by SheMulp AKA Plus 1 at 11:41 AM on January 26, 2009
(or is it Song Kang-Ho? I never get it the right way round.)
Names which are traditionally Eastern Order are perfectly fine to say in the West with the surname last so Kang-Ho Song is acceptable but there are exceptions like certain people who are well known like Chow Yun Fat.
And yeah, Song Kang-Ho is awesome.
posted by cazoo at 11:46 AM on January 26, 2009
Names which are traditionally Eastern Order are perfectly fine to say in the West with the surname last so Kang-Ho Song is acceptable but there are exceptions like certain people who are well known like Chow Yun Fat.
And yeah, Song Kang-Ho is awesome.
posted by cazoo at 11:46 AM on January 26, 2009
Audition is the first time that, when I saw a movie specifically because someone told me not to on account of how awful and disturbing it would be, I didn't mock that person afterward.
posted by cortex at 12:12 PM on January 26, 2009 [3 favorites]
posted by cortex at 12:12 PM on January 26, 2009 [3 favorites]
Oh man, this is totally heroin to me.....
Angel Dust just so happens to be the first movie my wife and I watched together.
Oh memories....
posted by lumpenprole at 12:30 PM on January 26, 2009
Angel Dust just so happens to be the first movie my wife and I watched together.
Oh memories....
posted by lumpenprole at 12:30 PM on January 26, 2009
They have Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, which I haven't seen, but the original Tetsuo was all kinds of messed up. I'm imagining the second to be similar.
I found it to be kinda like Evil Dead 2 inasmuch as it was sort of retreading the same ground with a higher budget (also, Body Hammer is in colour). Definitely worth seeing. I'd also recommend his Bullet Ballet. AHM has Gemini, which was lesser Tsukamoto IMO, but still effective as a ghost story.
Also, if you like Shinya Tsukamoto, may I recommend a movie he did not direct but stars in? Marebito is a creepy tale directed by Takashi Shimizu (of Ju-On fame) with Tsukamoto as a 'freelance videographer' investigating some weird goings-on in the subways of Tokyo. Sadly, it is not currently available at the linked site.
posted by stinkycheese at 2:54 PM on January 26, 2009
I found it to be kinda like Evil Dead 2 inasmuch as it was sort of retreading the same ground with a higher budget (also, Body Hammer is in colour). Definitely worth seeing. I'd also recommend his Bullet Ballet. AHM has Gemini, which was lesser Tsukamoto IMO, but still effective as a ghost story.
Also, if you like Shinya Tsukamoto, may I recommend a movie he did not direct but stars in? Marebito is a creepy tale directed by Takashi Shimizu (of Ju-On fame) with Tsukamoto as a 'freelance videographer' investigating some weird goings-on in the subways of Tokyo. Sadly, it is not currently available at the linked site.
posted by stinkycheese at 2:54 PM on January 26, 2009
Thank you so much! This is the mother lode. Mmmmmm.
posted by stonepharisee at 3:13 PM on January 26, 2009
posted by stonepharisee at 3:13 PM on January 26, 2009
I am going to cry myself to sleep so much this coming week.
posted by spec80 at 3:28 PM on January 26, 2009
posted by spec80 at 3:28 PM on January 26, 2009
Wow the Host is on there. I think it's the best monster movie ever, but admittedly I haven't seen too many monster movies.
posted by dhruva at 4:10 PM on January 26, 2009
posted by dhruva at 4:10 PM on January 26, 2009
Mod note: Long full list of movies is loooooong. Probably best to just let people link through.
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:42 PM on January 26, 2009
posted by cortex (staff) at 7:42 PM on January 26, 2009
cortex: "Audition is the first time that, when I saw a movie specifically because someone told me not to on account of how awful and disturbing it would be, I didn't mock that person afterward."
No joke. Even the telephone in that scene is terrifying, somehow. (Spoilers in the second half of the clip).
posted by Rhaomi at 9:05 PM on January 26, 2009
No joke. Even the telephone in that scene is terrifying, somehow. (Spoilers in the second half of the clip).
posted by Rhaomi at 9:05 PM on January 26, 2009
I second Oldboy
It's easily one of my favorite movies of all time.
posted by AZNsupermarket at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2009
It's easily one of my favorite movies of all time.
posted by AZNsupermarket at 1:14 PM on January 27, 2009
WOW! OMG!
posted by doctorschlock at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2009
posted by doctorschlock at 2:55 PM on January 27, 2009
I'm trying to learn how to review movies well since I watch 2 or 3 of them a day. It means learning more words and better grammer, but I swear, once it's done, my blog will be awesome. Thanks to posts like this one and that fantastic one in Askme last month (where I learned about The Room and Troll 2), I have a list of like, 300 movies to watch. I'm actually watching Dead Heat right now and I just finished Chronos. So..... YES! MORE AWESOME MOVIES FOR ME!
posted by Bageena at 6:51 PM on January 27, 2009
posted by Bageena at 6:51 PM on January 27, 2009
I just watched Angel Dust... Holy shit, it's a favorite now. Good stuff!!!
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:05 AM on January 28, 2009
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 9:05 AM on January 28, 2009
BTW, Quarantine resisted the urge to have a soundtrack, but it completely changed the ending to bring it around to an American sensibility (while, IMO, reducing the sense it made).
posted by Samizdata at 10:02 AM on February 2, 2009
posted by Samizdata at 10:02 AM on February 2, 2009
OK, so what's the deal with that awful, awful pre-roll footage of the guy who has the little girl in a noose on a chair, and the rope and the blindfold? Is there context for that, or do I just have to pretend that I never saw it?
posted by jbickers at 2:50 PM on February 3, 2009
posted by jbickers at 2:50 PM on February 3, 2009
OMG OMG OMG OMG
Go watch Bio Zombies. It's either Evil Dead II set in a mall, or Mallrats with zombies, whichever sounds more appealing to you at the moment.
posted by lekvar at 2:54 PM on February 11, 2009
Go watch Bio Zombies. It's either Evil Dead II set in a mall, or Mallrats with zombies, whichever sounds more appealing to you at the moment.
posted by lekvar at 2:54 PM on February 11, 2009
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posted by stinkycheese at 9:36 PM on January 25, 2009